Kota bharu: Approximately 34,000 account holders in Machang, Pasir Puteh, and southern Kota Bharu are expected to enjoy a more stable water supply starting September following the RM11.5 million upgrade project of the Merbau Chondong Water Treatment Plant (WTP), which nearly doubled the treated water production capacity. Kelantan Public Works, Infrastructure, Water and Rural Development Committee chairman Datuk Dr Izani Husin said the plant's production capacity will increase to 80 million litres per day compared to 45 million litres previously.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr Izani mentioned that Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd (AKSB) previously could not increase the water supply output from the plant due to concerns over affecting the quality of treated water. "Through improvements by using the Xylem Underdrain Leopold filtration system, the Merbau Chondong WTP can now treat between 70 million to nearly 90 million litres of raw water per day. With this upgrade, the treated water production capacity can reach 80 million litres per day, thereby resolving the water supply issue for 34,000 account holders in the affected areas," he said to reporters after a working visit to the Merbau Chondong WTP.
Dr Izani stated that the project is expected to be fully completed by the end of this month before the supply from the new system begins to be distributed to users in early September. He highlighted that the improvement also enhanced the quality of treated water when the Nephelometric Turbidity Unit (NTU) reading or turbidity level was successfully reduced from over 10 NTU to three NTU.
In another development, Dr Izani noted that the state government, together with Pengurusan Aset Air Berhad (PAAB), plans to build the Machang 1 WTP worth RM120 million, which is expected to be completed by 2030. He explained that the new plant is capable of supplying 50 million litres of water per day to meet the needs of the Machang residents, in addition to allowing the existing supply capacity at the Merbau Chondong WTP to be distributed to other districts in need.
He also revealed that the project is now awaiting the finalisation of the agreement between the state government and PAAB before the contractor appointment process is carried out. Meanwhile, Dr Izani shared that AKSB has resolved approximately 70 per cent of water supply issues involving 270,000 user accounts in the state and aims to achieve at least 90 per cent resolution by 2035.